Oxford University Press

Getting to the heart of OUP

Having been selected for the task, we set about absorbing all the qual and quant research OUP had built up across various studies. We also convened workshops and conducted inteviews with senior leadership to help us get to the heart of these insights quickly.

From the outset we looked to figure out what was it that OUP really offered its current and prospective employees - and which parts of that offer would really stand out.

Our working proposition centred around the idea of ‘freeing minds to do brilliant things’ as we realised that this was the core promise of OUP to its employees. The entire organisation was constructed around giving people roles and responsibilities that contribute to the publication and delivery of world class educational materials.

And it also captured what those materials ultimately provide. From school kids to university students, academics to any type of scholar, the aim of the publisher's work is to fire the imagination, stimulate the brains to think bigger thoughts – thoughts which lead to who knows where.

Making it personal

With the core thought on board we needed to find a way to deliver it in a way that would speak to someone at an individual level, and in language that wasn’t too lofty. So we settled upon a direct approach, leading with the headline of ‘Make your Mark’ - an encouragement to the individual that OUP is a place where you can truly contribute and make a difference.

To some it might be changing the face of education in Pakistan. To others it might be just turning up every day and do their job to the best of their ability. 'Make your Mark' was designed to give people room to see it and do it their way. It was reflective of the attitude of the organisation - looking for people to give their best, in whatever sense they define that, rather than having a standard corporate ambition imposed upon them.